WASHINGTON -- The Toledo-area man who became famous during the 2008 presidential race
as "Joe the Plumber" is suing a trio of former Ohio officials, alleging they violated his
privacy.

Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, who got his nickname from GOP candidate John McCain after Wurzelbacher
challenged Democrat Barack Obama's tax policies, today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in
Columbus.

Wurzelbacher alleges his constitutional rights were violated when the three then-state officials
in the Democratic Strickland administration, including Department of Job and Family Services
Director Helen Jones-Kelley, illegally accessed private information about him in state databases
after Wurzelbacher became a prominent Obama foe embraced by McCain.

In addition to Jones-Kelley, the lawsuit names as defendants former department officials Fred
Williams and Doug Thompson.

The lawsuit was filed by the legal watchdog group Judicial Watch on behalf of Wurzelbacher.

Wurzelbacher's "right to privacy regarding information maintained by the government was violated
by defendants' improper search of the confidential databases," the lawsuit states.

For his part, Wurzelbacher said at the news conference he doesn't regret asking Obama his
question or campaigning for McCain after he gained prominence. He spoke out against Obama and
campaigned on behalf of McCain because it was an "opportunity to help the country," not for any
personal gain, he said.

He said the notoriety has left him unable to find work as a plumber. It is a problem,
Wurzelbacher said, when public officials attack and investigate a regular citizen who asks a
question that embarrasses a candidate.

Jones-Kelley resigned last year near the end of a month-long, unpaid suspension for mining state
computers for confidential information on "Joe the Plumber." The Strickland administration fired
Doug Thompson, deputy director of child support. Fred Williams, assistant agency director, resigned
effective Jan. 31.

A report by Inspector General Thomas P. Charles found Jones-Kelley approved the database checks
on Wurzelbacher for no legitimate government purpose. The checks came the day after McCain
repeatedly mentioned Wurzelbacher by his nickname in a televised debate with Obama on Oct. 15.

Charles found that Williams and Thompson participated in Jones-Kelley's authorization of the
checks and that Thompson later directed an employee to lie about the checks. That staff member
reported the incident to Charles.

The agency's actions drew outrage from across the country after
The
Dispatch broke the story in October. The paper also reported that Jones-Kelley had used her
state computer and e-mail to assist the Obama campaign, providing names of potential Dayton-area
contributors and helping to arrange an event for Obama's wife, Michelle.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said "no American should be investigated for simply asking a
question of a public official."

Fitton added that he believes this case is part of a pattern of Obama supporters targeting Obama
opponents, and said what happened to Wurzelbacher will have a "chilling effect" on other
Americans.

Judicial Watch is a conservative government watchdog group that gained attention in the 1990s
after filing more than a dozen lawsuits against President Bill Clinton and his administration.